Mike Walsh interviewed countless celebrities on his show. His guests ranged from film stars to comedians and politicians.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the many stars who appeared on The Mike Walsh Show:

David Gulpilil, Dame Edna Everage, Kevin Kline, John Cleese, Helen Mirren, Sigourney Weaver, Bette Midler, Mel Gibson, Paul Hogan, Big Bird, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Hawke, Lauren Bacall, Garry McDonald, Billy Connolly, Barry Humphries, Leonard Cohen, Nancy Walters, Debbie Reynolds and Jacki Weaver.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Resident fashionista Jeanne Little is beyond excited as the finalists in the Glad Bag Fashion Show parade for the audience.

Always ingenious with the materials she uses, as we see in her hats made out of foods, Jeanne put the challenge out to the audience to design fashion using only Glad-brand plastic material – from rubbish bags to Glad Wrap and everything in between.

Five thousand entries later, the finalists vie for a new car. Jeanne Little is the chairperson and the judges are fashion designer Prue Acton OBE, Andrew Harris and 1983's Miss Australia, Lisa Cornelius.

Jeanne's unique voice, over-the-top personality, false eyelashes and eccentric fashion sense endeared her to Australian audiences. She won the 1976 Gold Logie for her work on The Mike Walsh Show.

In addition to a dress made of garbage bags, which started the competition off, Little also famously fashioned clothing creations out of toast, steel wool, lavatory chains, milk bottle tops and 3,000 $1 coins.

This clip comes from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 2202 broadcast on 17 November 1982.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Singer, actress and comedian Bette Midler talks about the downsides of being famous, such as no longer being able to go to the supermarket. She says 'If I go in California, they follow me and look at what I've bought. They judge what I'm buying ... they're really pissed off if I'm buying Spam!'

Keep watching the clip until the end because there's a fantastic comedy moment where a woman has fallen asleep in the audience and Walsh notices. Midler's reaction is very funny. This is a great example of the things that can go wrong on live television and how skilled hosts and comedians can milk them.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Watch a compilation of three different opening credits for The Mike Walsh Show from 1979, 1981 and 1983.

The credits from the 1980s sum up the show well with a voice-over saying: 'Join us for 90 minutes of the stars and the stories, the entertainers and the events that are happening today. And now, here's the star of our show: Mike Walsh!'

The show started off on Network Ten (then 0-10) in 1973 and moved to the Nine Network in 1978. It ran until 1985.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Director Gillian Armstrong talks about her first feature film My Brilliant Career (Australia, 1979) which had just been chosen to screen in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Armstrong alludes to the fact that she is the first woman to have directed a film in Australia since the McDonagh sisters in the 1930s. She also talks about the contemporary relevance of the themes of Miles Franklin's semi-autobiographical novel published in 1901, upon which the film is based.

Despite Walsh's surprise at the casting of the unknown Judy Davis in the lead role of Sybylla Melvyn, Armstrong promises she delivers.

In viewing the excerpt of the film, the audience sees Davis's masterful, self-assured performance. Davis went on to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1981.

Please note: the horizontal lines present in this clip are because of the age and condition of the source tape.

Clip taken from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 9064.

Notes by Beth Taylor

This compilation of quirky moments from The Mike Walsh Show shows how deliciously silly television can be.

Featuring Jack Thompson teaching Mike tai chi, Lali the baby koala, comedian Nancy Walters, film reviewer John-Michael Howson, the Glad Bag Fashion Show, Jeanne Little, Barry Humphries, Toni and Guy hair models, Mike 'Shirley Temple' Williams, strongman Jack Foley, Prince Charles and Lady Di merchandise, Sister Stanislaus, ‘The wizard of the silver bicycle’ Jimmy Constanto and Big Bird.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Mike Walsh interviews Ai Minh and Dr Tien Nguyen who arrived in Malaysia by boat as refugees from the Vietnam war in 1980 and were resettled in Australia.

Tien Nguyen talks about being drafted into the army in Vietnam and becoming a prisoner of war. The couple talk about their love story.

As they talk about their treacherous journey from Vietnam by boat and being attacked by pirates (seven times) we see news footage of emaciated Vietnamese refugees on a crowded boat, being towed by a larger boat. The images of the hungry, exhausted passengers seems incongruous with the two healthy, vibrant people talking about their experiences. It is hard to imagine what they have been through, and why they left their homes with no guarantee of safety, without both hearing and seeing their story, which is probably why this footage has been included.

Tien tells how he arrived in Malaysia wearing only a pair of pants - pirates had even taken his glasses.

Both the Nguyens have studied in Australia - Tien has just qualified to be a doctor and is working at Wollongong Hospital. Ai Minh is studying at the Conservatorium of Music.

The Mike Walsh Show featured the biggest name stars from stage, screen and cultural and political life, but the show also had segments about 'ordinary people' like this one.

Episode 4006 of The Mike Walsh Show was broadcast on 20 February 1984.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Jeanne Little models edible hats she has made out of food including pizza, french fries, crumpets, bangers and mash, ice cream cones and frankfurters in honour of Melbourne Cup day.

This segment follows her regular formula with her modelling her creations and bantering with show host Mike Walsh, prompting much laughter from the live studio audience.

Little was a regular guest on The Mike Walsh Show. She first appeared on the show when she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant in 1974 to plug her ailing dressmaking business. She was such a hit that they asked her back again and again and a star was born.

Her unique voice, over-the-top personality, false eyelashes, wigs and eccentric fashion sense endeared her to Australian audiences. She won the 1976 Gold Logie for her work on The Mike Walsh Show.

She went on to star in stage and television shows such as panel show Beauty and the Beast on the Ten Network, but retired from television in the mid-2000s.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Jamie Lee Curtis talks with guest compere Ita Buttrose about tiring of being a 'scream queen'. She admits 'I'm a little tired of screaming ... Finding your best friend dead every movie is a little tough.'

Lee Curtis appeared in a number of horror and slasher films in the late 1970s and early 80s including: Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Prom Night (1980) and Terror Train (1980).

In Australia to shoot and promote the Australian thriller Road Games (Richard Franklin, 1981), Lee Curtis says this role has been a welcome change.

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 0088.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Sister Stansilaus Zgrajewski was a Sisters of Mercy Nun from Queensland who was invited to perform on The Mike Walsh Show with her wonderful mix of music and comedy in 1982.

Her first appearance caused such a sensation that she was invited back the next day. This clip comes from her second appearance.

Sister Stani, as she was known, was a cook at the Star of the Sea Convent but she also had a hobby making instruments and entertaining residents in nursing homes with her musical talents.

Here she plays 'Click Go the Shears' on the piano accordion and harmonica, ably assisted by her straight-lady Dorothy Parker (not the poet).

The combination of her self-taught musical prowess and can-do attitude with the traditional Australian bush ballad is a winning one, and the audience is obviously both amazed and amused.

Designed to evoke memories, happiness and laughter in her audience, Sister's performance of the iconic song succeeds in all three counts, even getting Walsh to join in with the clicks using one of her puppets.

Sister Stani goes on to belt out the chorus of the much-covered 'Do What You Do Well' - a more contemporary tune written by Ned Miller. She is a one-woman-band with banjo, bells, harmonica and a squeaky duck.

She died in 2015 at the ripe old age of 104.

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 2189.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Scottish comedian Billy Connolly tells Mike Walsh why he loves Australia - 'It's so odd and I'm so odd and we sort of match'.

Connolly also alludes to the colour of the Australian desert being the same colour as the then-paper $20 dollar note.

Clip taken from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 3029.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Helen Mirren says that it's the first time she's ever been called a film star when Mike Walsh introduces her on the show.

Walsh goes on to talk with Mirren about nude scenes she's done in her career.

Episode 5009 of The Mike Walsh Show was broadcast on 18 March 1985.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Dame Edna Everage, and her alter ego Barry Humphries, is a favourite on The Mike Walsh Show, even hosting the show on occasion.

Here Everage steals the show with her Tina Turner-style wig and use of 'camera technique' to steal the limelight from the host. Walsh goes with it and the live studio audience loves it.

Everage is a big name-dropper and here she talks about Queen Elizabeth II and former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam - who conferred her Damehood upon her.

This clip is from The Mike Walsh Show in 1985.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Glenys Messiah from Frenchs Forest tells guest compere Ita Buttrose about the time she saw a UFO out the front of her house.

Alongside big name stars from Australia and around the world, The Mike Walsh Show also regularly featured offbeat segments like this one, about ordinary people.

This is a full segment from the show. The Mike Walsh Show ran for 90-minutes five days a week.

This clip is from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 0088.

Notes by Beth Taylor

What makes a good film producer? Guest compere Maggie Tabberer interviews Pat Lovell and Margaret Fink.

Lovell was the executive producer of Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, Australia, 1975) and Fink produced My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, Australia, 1979).

Fink and Lovell speak with great candour about why they became producers, how they choose their material and the state of the Australian film industry. Fink says 'It's a greedy, immoral industry, there's no question about that'.

They finish up talking about why Australia has a relatively large number of female producers compared with America.

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 2151.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Mike Walsh introduces an interview with Jane Fonda saying that 1978 has been dubbed 'the year of the actress'.

Fonda is talking with John-Michael Howson OAM about her role in Julia (Fred Zinnemann, USA, 1977) and being nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role.

Fonda doesn't seem too impressed with Howson's line of questioning but he proceeds.

Howson was a regular on The Mike Walsh Show. Mostly talking about films and celebrity gossip, Walsh dubbed Howson 'Hollywood'.

This clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 8045 shows the calibre of the guests which appeared on the show. Most often they appeared in the studio but sometimes they were interviewed off-site or overseas.

To date Fonda has received seven Oscar nominations and has won twice.

Notes by Beth Taylor

From the sublime to the ridiculous – take a look at Jeanne Little's televisual curated collection of merchandise commemorating the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

As well as the obligatory tea towels and crockery there's waving Charles and Di cut-outs, coat hangers and a special commemorative Rubik's Cube!

Jeanne Little was a regular guest on The Mike Walsh Show. She first appeared on the show in 1974 to plug her ailing dressmaking business. She was such a hit that they asked her back again and again and a star was born.

Her unique voice, over-the-top personality, false eyelashes and eccentric fashion sense endeared her to Australian audiences. She won the 1976 Gold Logie for her work on The Mike Walsh Show.

She went on to star in stage and television shows such as panel show Beauty and the Beast on the Ten Network, but retired from television in the mid-2000s.

This clip comes from The Mike Walsh Show: Archive No. 503.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Australian actor Jack Thompson teaches Mike Walsh how to do a short Tai chi sequence and talks about his love of the practice of Tai chi.

Having a 90-minute live show five days a week allowed Walsh to follow his instincts as an interviewer and performer. With a good idea of what would engage viewers, Walsh gives his guests the opportunity to show a fuller picture of themselves and really connect with the audience.

Thompson is best known for his roles in films such as Wake in Fright (1971), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), Breaker Morant (1980), The Club (1980) and The Man From Snowy River (1982).

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 2191.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Country music icon Johnny Cash (1932-2003) sings the song 'The Highwayman', written by Jimmy Webb.

Unlike many of the appearances on the show where performers are on publicity tours for their latest work, Cash and his wife June Carter Cash came to Australia for an 'anonymous' visit with friends and were convinced to appear on the show.

This performance was in the same year that Cash and Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson formed the 80s supergroup, whose name The Highwaymen was inspired by the song. The Highwaymen cover of the song went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1986.

The Mike Walsh Show featured musical performances from many big name recording artists from around the world, including The Village People, Queen, Leonard Cohen, Chubby Checker and Australians Jade Hurley, Little Pattie and John Farnham.

Clip taken from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 5031.

Notes by Beth Taylor

1970s and 80s disco sensations The Village People perform their single 'Can't Stop the Music', written by Jacques Morali.

The group are in Australia to promote their film Can't Stop the Music (Nancy Walker, USA, 1980) and showcase their custom choreography, repetitive choruses and brightly coloured character costumes.

After the performance, Mike Walsh greets the group and gets them to introduce themselves. They are Ray Simpson (the policeman), Randy Jones (the cowboy), David Hodo (the construction worker), Felipe Rose (the Native American), Glenn Hughes (the leatherman) and Alex Briley (the soldier).

Walsh asks each member what they did before being cast for the group, which ranges from being a back-up singer, to a toll collector at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York and an actor.

Clip taken from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 0076.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Married for 60 years, Tom and Emily Pearson share their secrets for a happy marriage with guest presenter Ita Buttrose.

The Mike Walsh Show featured the biggest name stars from stage, screen and cultural and political life, but the show also had segments like this one about 'ordinary people'.

The Pearsons talk about living through The Great Depression.

Spoiler alert: Tom and Emily believe that the secret to a long, happy marriage is for a husband to hand his pay packet straight over to his wife before opening it!

Clip taken from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 0088.

Notes by Beth Taylor

This interview with Sigourney Weaver covers a lot in two-and-a-half minutes, from the origins of her name, to her experience of working on the film Alien (Ridley Scott, USA, 1979), to working with Mel Gibson on The Year of Living Dangerously (Peter Weir, Australia, 1982).

Mike Walsh's precision, and also his sense of humour, is evident here when he jokes about his likeness (or lack thereof) with actor Mel Gibson.

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 4191. You can see another clip from this interview in the 1980s curated collection.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Big Bird from the long-running American kid's television show Sesame Street (USA, 1969–current), visits Australia for a promotional tour in 1984.

Sesame Street is known for its use of Jim Henson's Muppets puppets, such as Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster.

Clearly a bit exasperated by the task of interviewing the giant puppet Mike Walsh asks the audience 'Is this a way for a grown man to make a living?'.

Usually his guests sit in a chair next to him but in this case Big Bird, performed by puppeteer Caroll Spinney, towers over Walsh calling him 'little fellow'.

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Ep.4024.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall talks about overcoming a case of nervous shakes on the set of her first big movie.

In the process of discovering that tilting her head 'locked' it in position, and prevented it shaking, she unknowingly created a much imitated iconic 'look'.

Bacall remembers how falling in love with Humphrey Bogart (who she calls Bogey) on the set of To Have and Have Not (Howard Hawks, USA, 1944), took them both by surprise.

She is in Sydney to promote her autobiography Lauren Bacall: By Myself (1978).

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 9095.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Mike Walsh interviews Ita Buttrose about becoming an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to journalism.

Buttrose was the editor of both Cleo and The Australian Women's Weekly in the 1970s.

At the time of the interview Buttrose was the publisher of Australian Consolidated Press's Womens' Division.

Buttrose also talks about female representation in politics and the workplace.

This clip is from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 9095.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Oral historian Wendy Lowenstein talks about her book Weevils in the Flour which is about the lives of Australians during The Great Depression.

Mike Walsh also interviews Jack and Phyllis Acland about their experiences in times of severe unemployment. Jack used to walk 20 miles (32 km) a day looking for work.

Fun fact: Wendy Lowenstein (1927–2006) is filmmaker Richard Lowenstein's mother.

The Mike Walsh Show featured the biggest name stars from stage, screen and cultural and political life, but the show also had segments like this one about 'ordinary people'.

This is a full segment from the show. The Mike Walsh Show ran for 90-minutes five days a week.

This is a clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode  8217.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Beloved broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough talks with Mike Walsh about the basics of human survival on Planet Earth.

Attenborough notes: 'The animal life and the plant life actually provides the wherewithal for us to live. If there were no plants and no animals we would starve. We can't eat rock. And we can't turn gases in the air into edible substances, as plants can, so we have to conserve the natural world because we are dependent on the natural world. But quite apart from that, I think actually we have a moral obligation not to exterminate the other creatures and the other living organisms with which we share the world.'

Episode 4132 of The Mike Walsh Show was originally broadcast on 15 August 1984.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Leonard Cohen on The Mike Walsh Show, performing 'Dance Me to the End of Love' from his 1984 album Various Positions.

His performance is followed by an interview in which Coen describes songwriting as a 'deep spiritual quest for the truth'.

Every episode of the show featured at least two live musical performances from guests, of which this is an example.

Notes by Beth Taylor

From The Mike Walsh Show, ep. 5027.

Senator Derryn Hinch in his previous career as a journalist says that he wouldn't consider a career in politics because 'the pay's lousy'.

Hinch is currently the head of Derryn Hinch's Justice Party. He was elected to the Senate representing Victoria in 2016.

This clip is from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 2161.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Female Forum is a segment on The Mike Walsh Show where a panel of prominent women act as agony aunts for a letter-writer in need of guidance.

The clip features hairdresser Lillian Frank, Ena Harwood (who featured on Network Ten's panel show Beauty and the Beast) and model Maggie Eckhardt.

This particular letter is from a woman questioning her daughter-in-law's career choices.

The panel's differing responses display common social attitudes from the late 1970s regarding the place of women in society and acceptable ways to balance a career with marriage and motherhood.

This is a full segment from the show. The Mike Walsh Show ran for 90-minutes five days a week.

This clip is from Episode 8012 of The Mike Walsh Show.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Hairdressers Bruno and Anthony Mascolo are interviewed on The Mike Walsh Show in 1981. They are the younger brothers of Toni and Guy Mascolo, who began their hairdressing business Toni&Guy in London in 1963. Today, Toni&Guy has hundreds of salons around the world, including in Australia. 

Here models show the latest in 80s hair, make-up and clothing fashion. Walsh remarks that 'it looks as if they've stuck their fingers in electric light sockets' and the live studio audience shriek and laugh in disbelief at some of the styles.

Bruno says that they are interested in romantic styles. There's a lot of volume and wave, a hairstyle that features a bow made out of hair, another that looks like a hat and the pièce de résistance is a hairstyle where the hair has been sprayed gold and made into a helmet shape. They also discuss Princess Diana's hair.

Episode 1157 of The Mike Walsh Show was broadcast on 23 September 1981.

Notes by Beth Taylor

British comedian John Cleese on how he created the character of Basil Fawlty from the classic British sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975, 1979).

Cleese reveals that Fawlty - an eccentric, chronically uptight, hotelier - was inspired by a real-life hotel manager he encountered in Torquay, England called Mr Sinclair.

Mike Walsh throws to a clip from the twelfth and final episode of Fawlty Towers, called 'Basil the Rat', to illustrate Cleese's work on the highly successful show.

While there's no indication of why this particular episode was chosen, the chaotic clip gives an indication of Cleese's knack for physical comedy.

Still as funny and painful as ever, Fawlty's trademark mix of sheer panic and forced obsequience made for an iconic TV comedy character.

The clip features actors Connie Booth, John Cleese, Andrew Sachs, John Quarmby, Prunella Scales and Ballard Berkeley.

The episode was produced for BBC Two by Douglas Argent, directed by Bob Spiers and written by John Cleese and Connie Booth.

Excerpt taken from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 3031.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Twenty days after becoming Australia's 23rd Prime Minister, Bob Hawke speaks to Mike Walsh about the election campaign and his plans for Australia's future.

As well as stories about fashion, music and film, Walsh often did serious interviews about politics, medicine, news and human interest stories about ordinary Australians.

Clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 3031.

Notes by Beth Taylor

In 1981, 4 former Number 96 cast members (Sheila Kennelly, Pat McDonald, Joe Hasham and Johnny Lockwood) appeared on The Mike Walsh Show to celebrate the groundbreaking 1970s soap and its director Brian Phillis.

This clip features a package of the show's highlights from its five-and-a-half year run, with a notable emphasis on the show's reputation for gratuitous nudity – an aspect that Number 96 is still very well known for to this day.

Warning: this clip contains nudity.

Please note: this package also includes a scene featuring transgender actress Carlotta portraying a transgender character, Robyn Ross, on Number 96 in 1973. The portrayal of a trans character by a trans performer was a first on Australian television. That moment is included in the Mike Walsh Show highlights package out of context to laughter from the studio audience, which some viewers may find offensive.

Read more about this epidode of The Mike Walsh Show in the Curator's Notes by Nigel Giles below.

Dr Wright, resident medic on The Mike Walsh Show, talks about a lot of serious topics - always with a dose of good humour.

Here he discusses the dangers of lead poisoning for children, exacerbated by the use of lead in petrol and other products.

This clip from The Mike Walsh Show: Episode 9085 is a good example of how the show is a time capsule for issues affecting Australians in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Dr Wright and Mike Walsh guess at what will be the impact of this in 20 years - be it banning motor vehicles or creating lead-free fuel. Today Australian vehicles largely use unleaded petrol or gas (LPG).

Fun facts: Dr Wright is a real doctor and continued his general practice alongside 25 years of appearing on The Mike Walsh Show and The Midday Show talking about medicine. His real name is Dr John Franklin Knight AM.

Notes by Beth Taylor

Dame Vera Lynn interviewed by Mike Walsh, 6 February 1979.